Turning point
by The cursed child
Summary: Henry knew, standing between Regina and his parents and the well, that this was the last chance they had. Something had to change, or there would be nothing left to save.


**A/N Spoilers for 2x17. Something that came to mind. Because I think that Regina deserved it. I normally don't rewrite scripted dialogue, but in this case, it felt necessary. Enjoy!**

Henry stood there, in the middle of the forest, between his two families. The well he had planned to blow up was taunting him, reminding the boy that the magic it brought was destroying his family.

The difference between them was simple, and yet extremely complicated. The evil queen was trying to change, had given up magic for him, even though it made her extremely vulnerable.

His parents and grandparents were convinced they were doing good, but he saw the change in them. Snow was curled up in her bed, having realized it, but thinking it was too late to change back.

And it was all about him. This whole battle, and the lives it had cost, were his fault. All his mom wanted was for him to love her.

Without magic, everything could change.

"Magic isn't the problem, kid. It's her," Emma said quietly, beckoning him over.

"It's not just her, it's everyone! Look at what magic did to Mary Margaret." Henry tried to explain to the blonde, exasperated with her lack of understanding, with the hatred radiating between his two families.

In his mind he could picture Snow, curled up in bed, staring at a scene in the window without doing anything with it. The fairest of them all was trapped in the guilt, unable to escape the torment that being a murderer had released on her.

"Look at what it did to you!" Henry shouted to Regina, seeing if maybe she would listen to him. "It's ruining everything." He saw something in the eyes of his adopted mother, that glint of attention that encouraged him to go on and push until they got it.

"It makes good people do terrible things." He aimed the statement at Emma and Charming, who looked at him as if they knew better just because they were older, had done more and seen more. Henry, though, knew all of them like they didn't know each other, giving him the knowledge to get them all through this safely. If only it was easier to avoid the mistakes he'd made getting his family here, abandoning his mother in the process of breaking the Curse to reunite his grandparents.

"And bad people," Emma interrupted, missing the point. They didn't know his mom like he did. She may be the Evil Queen, but his grandmother had taught him that given a chance (a real chance), Regina had the potential to be good, which she wanted to be badly, if only for her son.

They weren't being reasonable, so he turned back to his mother, knowing that she would do anything for him, no matter what it cost her. "Please, its gonna destroy my family. Help me get rid of it," he pleaded. Without magic things could turn back to normal, and he would get to see both of his moms, just like he'd wanted to from the start.

He had made mistakes, too, but he was eleven! He wasn't Emma's or Regina's. He wanted to be theirs, to love them both equally. They all meant too much to him to let any one of them go.

"I can't do that, Henry." Disappointment shot through him. All that could come from this if he allowed it to continue was pain. Destroying the magic in this realm had been the only plan he could think of. "But there is something I can do."

She destroyed the spell, and he knew instinctively that this was the turning point. If he gave her a chance now, there would be a chance this all turned out okay.

Instead of the 'Thank you' he had intended to give her, he took a step closer to her form and grabbed the hand where the fireball had rested previously, still warm from the heat that hadn't harmed her.

"I already love you, you don't need a spell for that," he whispered quietly, and that was the truth. She had raised him, given him more than he ever wanted. The only thing that ever truly stood between his love for her was the Curse, and now that it was broken he didn't have to choose.

With tears in her eyes, she crouched low and pulled him in for a warm hug that spoke of more love than all her other hugs ever had. Her arms encircled his body, and he rested in the embrace for as long as he could.

He ran to his other mom, who still watched on with trepidation and gave her a hug as well, clinging to her waist. She rested a hand on her son's shoulder and steered him away.

Henry was about to comply, when he looked over his shoulder to see his mom standing by the well with a weird expression. Right, turning point. He pulled away from Emma's hand and pulled at it, making her stop in her tracks.

"Is it okay if I go with her for dinner?" he asked, knowing that he would be going no matter what she said. His moms had to learn how to share. He was nobody's possession, he was family, which made them family, too. They didn't have to like it, but they should start learning how to live with it.

Emma cleared her throat nervously, obviously recognizing her own stubborn expression on Henry's childish face. She looked at Regina and back, weighing her options. On one hand, Regina was a threat in every way that counted, on the other hand, she would never harm Henry. She hesitated too long, because Henry got an exited look on his face, somehow identifying her doubt and rejection of the plan as approval, and bounded back to his mother.

"Can I eat dinner with you tonight?" he asked, slightly hesitant after the vents of the past couple of weeks, but still with a grin on his face.

The biggest smile any of them had ever seen on her face rushed into existence "Shall I make lasagna?" she asked teasingly, knowing he would never object to his favorite.

Henry grabbed her hand in response, pulling her to the main road, avoiding the Emma's concerned look like only a child can.

A lesson Rumplestiltskin's and Regina's stories had taught Henry, was that there was good in everyone, and that even in the darkest of hearts, there would always be someone who could find the hidden light. He could do that, he could be that, for all of them.


End file.
